Wonder Valley, California, in the heart of the Mojave Desert, is a rural community of artists, musicians, and other desert dwellers. Visit the Palms Restaurant, the Glass Outhouse Gallery, and the Wonder Valley Community Center. Visit the beautiful Pinto and Bullion mountains. Minutes from Joshua Tree National Park and the Gateway to the Mojave Preserve.

Monday, June 29, 2015

Where's Heather?

Wonder Valley's own artist, Heather Johnson, is riding her motorcycle to the other end of the Americas. She's made it as far as Playa El Cuco, El Salvador. From Heather:

Heather Johnson, In Search of the Frightening and Beautiful

"To get to Mompox, there is a ferry that runs every odd hour. You pick it up east of Manangue, a town so filled with motorbikes that riding through it feels like participating in a race. There are literally no cars.. only 125cc singles, mostly 2-strokes. The ferry slides lazily down a branch of the Magdalena River and spits its cargo onto a steep sand and gravel embankment, followed by 25 miles of gravel to the well-preserved 16th century town of Santa Cruz de Mompox.

"At the terminal there is a bar, run by a big man with three names who grilled me on my feelings about President Obama (wherein my Spanish conveniently crapped out - partly because I'm not great at talking about politics with strangers). But when I finally parked my bike on the flat ferry barge, I was immediately surrounded by enthusiastic guys with questions about my bike and what the hell I was doing with it, alone. They listened to my every word, sorting out the jumbled Spanish and gently offering corrections. We talked about the night's big football game, and I assured them I'd route for the country I was in now, as opposed to one I'm traveling to (Colombia vs Argentina - Colombia lost by one point after kicking mighty ass to settle up a tie). We took photos of each other, swapping emails, and once again, after striking out into unknown territory, I ended up with new friends."